Obama Rips GOP as Inhofe Blocks Oil Penalty Hike

President Obama assailed Republicans Tuesday, accusing them of "playing special-interest politics" after GOP Sen. James Inhofe blocked a Democratic effort to increase the liability cap for oil spills to $10 billion.

The Oklahoma Republican's move came as Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., sought the unanimous consent of the Senate to advance the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act, according to the Los Angeles Times. The proposal features a retroactive increase of the legal cap of $75 million on how much oil companies must pay for damage.

Inhofe said such an increase would make drilling too expensive for smaller companies.

"Big Oil would love to have these caps there so they can shut out all the independents," the Times quoted him as saying.

President Obama assailed Republicans Tuesday, accusing them of playing special-interest politics after GOP Sen. James Inhofe blocked a Democratic effort to increase the liability cap for oil spills to $10 billion.
The Oklahoma Republican's move came as Sen. Robert...